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School Meals Program

January 2026 

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Links to USDA Policy Memos are located at the bottom!

Why can't you ever make plans with a croissant?     Answer found below!

«Procurement Training»

ALL School Nutrition Sponsors are required to take this training before the end of school year 2025/2026.

AK DEED is providing an updated procurement training. Watching or reading the PowerPoint/PDF presentation of this training is required for all school food authorities!

• Recording
• PowerPoint
• PDF

Food Service Management Company (FSMC) request for proposals (RFP):

• Full services
• Menu Planning and Procurement
• Vended Meal

FSMC RFP will also be posted on our website at https://education.alaska.gov/cnp/nslp

Updated Federal Micro-Purchase and Simplified Acquisition Thresholds

This announcement provides notification that procurement thresholds have been updated by the Office of Management and Budget, effective October 1, 2025. The final rule at 90 FR 41872 amends the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to further implement a statute, which requires an adjustment every five years of statutory acquisition-related thresholds for inflation.

Thresholds administered under Federal awards are referenced in 48 CFR 2.101 (also known as FAR 2.101) and increased to the following starting October 1, 2025:

• Federal micro-purchase threshold - increased from $10,000 to $15,000 and;
• Federal simplified acquisition threshold (formerly known as the Federal small purchase threshold) - increased from $250,000 to $350,000.

Program operators are reminded to continue referencing Federal procurement regulations at 2 CFR 200, which cite the above regulations. This update applies to all child nutrition programs including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).

State and local agencies continue to possess the authority to set lower micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds, thereby imposing more restrictive procurement requirements. If the state has not set a lower threshold, local Program operators may set higher limits in line with regulations found at 2 CFR 200.320(a)(1).

This notification supersedes and rescinds SP20 CACFP07 SFSP06-2019- Revised.

2026 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

USDA has posted the updated guidelines for Americans. This is a 10-page report, as opposed to the 164-page 2020-2025 guidelines. We strongly encourage your food service staff to read this and be prepared to share any thoughts in our upcoming monthly chat.

Alaska School Nutrition Association Annual Conference Registration link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfepcYbuSiT9UaawlZWCVzPlnijORJF3z7_FPUumubSUYlyTA/viewform We are thrilled to invite you to the 58th Annual Alaska School Nutrition Association Conference, taking place January 26–29, 2026 at the Dena’ina Center in downtown Anchorage! This year’s theme, “Nourishing Roots, Growing Futures,” focuses on strengthening our foundations while planting seeds for the next generation of school nutrition excellence.

Northern Bites Let’s beef frank, we’re always excited to taco about food! Submit your photos today: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/047441e6af7d42e29f1d502c440922b6 Highlight the incredible meals that your children are eating by submitting a photo of your school meal trays.  The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) will highlight one to two photos each month (or more) featuring school meals from around the state. Photos may be submitted by any school or nutrition staff.  The photos should feature a complete meal, meeting the meal pattern requirements of the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. The meal can be a main line or alternative meal, such as a special dietary accommodation.  The goal is to highlight the great meals our students are receiving.  We hope to receive enough photo entries to host a “March Madness” style competition in March.  Please be sure that the food is the focus of the photo, we cannot share photos that contain students faces or other identifying imagery (hands, arms, shirts, etc. are okay in the background).

School Meals Program Reminders: 

Claims - Submit claim data online through the CNP Web Database.

• December Claim Month - Submit to DEED by January 30. Late submissions will be accepted until February 29, 2026.
• January Claim Month - Submit to DEED by March 1, 2026. Late submissions will be accepted until March 31.

The final claim will not be accepted if it is not in the Pending Approval status within 60 days of the last day of the claim month. Upward amended claims may be submitted throughout the 60-day period but no later than 60 days.  Be aware, claims in Error status cannot be paid and if help is needed from Child Nutrition the sponsor must contact Child Nutrition well in advance of the 60-Day Deadline.

School Nutrition Program Monthly Call, January 14, 2026 @ 2:00 PM.

Please request the monthly call link if you don't already have it :)

Civil Rights Certification

Staff who have not completed the Civil Rights training may self-certify through the self-certification portal for training outside the E-learning System.

Each staff must complete the training and document their completion.

Civil Rights recording:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1K6IzkBMZxILzs5ecqfUT12MOLoyiKQF4?usp=drive_link

Self-certification portal:

https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/d9bc146c038f4bc09da47b52e87ab68b

DEC Food Worker Card Test Now Available! School Food Service Directors may request no-fee tests for their food service staff via email at decfwc@alaska.gov. For additional information, reach out to Laura Nielson at 907-269-6289. https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/food-worker-card/

SNA Updates -  SNA’s 2026 Trends Report details extensive financial and operational challenges for school meal programs working to further expand scratch cooking and reduce reliance on ultra-processed food (UPFs).  The report also includes data on school meal prices, unpaid student meal debt, other menu trends and operational challenges for meal programs. Key takeaways: 99% of respondents reported needing more funding to increase scratch-prep and reduce UPFs. Respondents also cited needing more staff (94%), culinary training (95%), equipment and infrastructure (94%). Nearly all respondents reported their programs are challenged by the cost of food (98%), labor (95%) and equipment (95%). Compared to last year, more respondents rated these challenges as “significant.” 70% of respondents reported the reimbursement rate is insufficient to cover the cost of producing a school lunch More than half (51%) expressed “serious concern” about the financial sustainability of their program in three years, up from 45% in SY 2023-24. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Need help boosting your blood pressure? Start your mornings off with politics! Stay up to date with the latest bills related to School Nutrition by subscribing to the "Tuesday Morning" newsletter by SNA! It is very informative and a good read.

Resources

CHILD NUTRITION (CN) LABEL

The Child Nutrition (CN) Labeling Manual is available online.  CN labels are approved by USDA and provide a way for a manufacturer to demonstrate how a processed food product contributes to the meal pattern requirements in Child Nutrition Programs CNP.  The CN Labeling Manual provides food manufacturers with instructions on how to apply for and obtain approval for a Child Nutrition (CN) label.  It also contains instructions for calculating the contribution that meats, meat alternates, poultry, and seafood products make toward the meal pattern requirements for (CNP). 

PRODUCT FORMULATION STATEMENT (PFS)

The recently revised Product Formulation Statement (PFS) templates and samples are available for food industry partners to demonstrate how a food product may contribute to the meal pattern requirements in Child Nutrition Programs (CNP). A PFS may be voluntarily provided by manufacturers at the request of program operators, but it is not approved by USDA.

The revised PFS templates and samples add clarity and provide additional instructions for manufacturers, and update terminology to align with current CNP guidance. A new sample PFS for documenting how to credit a food product containing meats/meat alternates (M/MA) is included with the revised PFS templates and existing samples for grains and vegetables. New samples for combination foods that contribute to more than one meal component are also available.

The Tips for Evaluating a Manufacturer's Product Formulation Statement webpage was updated to assist CNP operators with evaluating a manufacturer’s PFS. Program operators are encouraged to review information about manufacturer documentation, including Child Nutrition (CN) labels, found here: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/manufacturer-documentation.

CHILD NUTRITION SHARING SITE 

Child Nutrition Sharing Site (CNSS) - recruiting new resources.

FOOD BUYING GUIDE (FBG)

The Food Buying Guide includes CNP interactive web-based tools that are available in the Tools menu option on the toolbar. 

ICN's E-learning

iLearn – ICN E-learning (docebosaas.com)

ICN's CICN TRAINING SECTION The Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN) training section, is great for schools wanting to scratch cook or gain additional culinary skills: https://theicn.org/cicn/

SNA TRAINING ZONE

Check out SNA's on-demand webinars

Find educational content and earn CEU credits to achieve your professional goals with the SNA Training Zone! 

TEAM NUTRITION Sign up to receive Team Nutrition updates in English and in Spanish.

USDA POLICY MEMOS

Regulation requires sponsoring organizations and institutions to keep Bulletins, Instructions, and USDA Policy Memorandums for reference and to apply immediately the appropriate instruction to agency programs. Please call Child Nutrition Programs, if further clarification is needed.

All Policy Memos from USDA can be located here:

SP 18-2025 Guidance on Fees for Electronic Payment Services in the School Meal Programs

SP 17-2025 Reimbursement for Off-Site Meal Consumption

SP 16-2025 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program: Allocation of Funds for FY 2026

SP 15-2025 Enhancing Child Nutrition Program Meal Standards

SP 14-2025 Offer versus Serve Flexibilities for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program

SP 13-2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025: Effect on Child Nutrition Programs

SP 12-2025 Paid Lunch Equity: Guidance for School Year 2025-2026

SP 11-2025 Using Federal Funds to Purchase Local Foods

SP 09-2025 Buy American Accommodation Process for School Year 2025-2026

SP 08-2025 Non-Congregate Meal Service in Rural Areas: Questions and Answers #3

SP 07-2025 Requirement to Accept Medical Statements from Registered Dietitians for Schools

SP 06-2025 National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grants: Installation Expenditure

SP 05-2025 Guidance for Accepting Processed Product Documentation for Meal Pattern Requirements

SP 04-2025 Fees for Electronic Payment Services in the School Meal Programs

SP 03-2025 Substituting Vegetables for Grains in American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Tribal Communities

SP 02-2025 Substitution of Vegetables for Fruit Flexibility in the School Breakfast Program: Questions and Answers for Program Operators

SP 01-2025 Fluid Milk Requirements for School Meals

Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Division of Finance and Support Services
Child Nutrition Programs
P.O. Box 110500
Juneau, AK 99811

Contact Us

Disclaimer

This newsletter contains hyperlinks to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the reader’s convenience. DEED does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.

Confidential Information

Confidential information should never be shared via email outside of the SFA’s email system.  Since email can easily be transmitted to the wrong recipient or intercepted by a third party, it could lead to a breach of confidential information.  When emailing Alaska Child Nutrition Programs, sponsors are encouraged to make arrangements with the recipient(s) to email documents with Zend To (https://drop.state.ak.us/drop/).  Please contact DEED CNP for further information.

Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the State or local Agency that administers the program or contact USDA through the Telecommunications Relay Service at 711 (voice and TTY). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mail Stop 9410, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.